Grand Prairie first-grader dies in hit-and-run

John Raidy, 6, was struck while walking with his mother and sister in a crosswalk in north Grand Prairie.

GRAND PRAIRIE — At a busy Grand Prairie intersection Friday afternoon, a red police marking on the crosswalk and a memorial teddy bear near a light post were the only indications of the previous evening’s hit-and-run that killed 6-year-old John Raidy.

The driver fled the scene and remains unknown to police, who continue to investigate the accident at North Carrier Parkway and Holiday Hills Drive near Crosswinds High School.

“You have such a blatant, flagrant violation of not only running the red light, but also a complete disregard for human life by just leaving the child out there in the street and taking off,” said Sgt. Eric Hansen, a Grand Prairie police traffic investigator.

On Thursday night, John, a first-grader at Stephen F. Austin Elementary, his mother and 2-year-old sister made their regular trip to buy candy at a store across from their apartment complex. He was walking a few paces ahead of his mother, Lauren Raidy-Brooks, who was pushing the toddler in a stroller, as they returned home about 7:30 p.m.

Authorities say a black four-door car, either a hatchback or a small SUV, ran a red light on Carrier and struck John, tossing him onto the hood of the car. The vehicle, traveling 30 to 35 mph, carried him on its hood for about half a block. The vehicle stopped long enough for the boy to fall to the road before speeding off.

John’s mother “just watched in shock and horror and just didn’t know what to do,” said Anita Eads, the boy’s maternal grandmother. “[She] said it just keeps playing like a tape in her head. The baby keeps saying, ‘Bubba, car hurt.’”

Authorities say the crossing signal indicated John and his family had the right of way. The traffic light had been red for 14 seconds.

There were no skid marks, leading police to believe the driver didn’t tap the brakes. A grainy surveillance video from the nearby high school provided further evidence.

A witness, who stopped and administered CPR on the boy, also saw the accident. John was pronounced dead shortly after he was taken to Arlington Memorial Hospital.

The family decided to donate his organs, Eads said.

“They just knew that one day it would bring them comfort to know that he could provide life or help to another child,” she said.

Eads described John as an avid learner and a true joy to his family.

“People would say he was precocious,” she said. “He just seemed to know things that you would not expect a little child to know.”

But he also liked to do boy things such as play football and roll around in the dirt, she added. Eads said she will cherish the homemade videos he recently left on her iPad, telling her how much he loved her.

Family members have raised money to offer a $10,000 reward to help find the driver, Eads said.

“It’s just unspeakable,” she said. “We want him found.”

Friday afternoon, Crystal Brena and her 4-year-old son placed a teddy bear near the site of the deadly crash.

“I just hope they catch this person because they don’t need to be free. They should pay, and the family should have justice,” said Brena, a mother of two who did not know John or his family but lives in the same apartment complex. “No mother should have to bury their child.”

Hansen, the traffic investigator, said that in more than 20 years of investigating accidents, he has dealt with many hit-and-runs but never a case as unsettling as this.

He said the driver could face felony charges more serious than leaving the scene of an accident and failing to stop and render aid.

“Now we’re looking at a possible homicide charge, based on all the circumstances that we have here today,” he said

The Grand Prairie Independent School District sent additional social workers and counselors Friday to Austin Elementary to help grieving students and teachers.

“He was a very bright child, well-liked,” said Sam Buchmeyer, district spokesman. “When the staff got word, starting last night and on into this morning, obviously there was shock here at the campus level.”

Austin Elementary faculty members kept the school day as normal as possible as they made parents aware of John’s death. Extra counselors will be on hand again Monday.

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